Authorities release more images of person of interest in Charlie Kirk assassination
The FBI has released new photos of the person of interest in the assassination of conservative speaker Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University during a public speaking event.
The images show a thin male wearing jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt with an American flag graphic, black sunglasses and a hat. Authorities released a new set of photos on Thursday evening, giving the clearest look yet at the person of interest.
Authorities said a short while later that the FBI was offering a $100,000 bounty for information that helps crack the case.
“The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual(s) responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah,” FBI Salt Lake City announced on X.
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: ‘SUBJECT’ QUESTIONED AND RELEASED AFTER UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING, PATEL SAYS
Investigators said Thursday morning that they had traced the sniper’s escape route and recovered a “high-powered, bolt-action rifle,” according to FBI Salt Lake City Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls. He said they also had obtained foot, palm and forearm imprints linked to the crime.
The news came after two separate announcements from authorities about having someone in custody — and later releasing those individuals.
A single gunshot rang out around 12:20 p.m. local time, a school spokeswoman said, about 20 minutes into a speech from Kirk on campus at Utah Valley University.
Dispatchers audio includes a suspect description.
“He’s going to be wearing all black, black long gun, black tactical helmet, a black mask, possibly wearing a tactical vest and jeans,” a female dispatcher said over the radio, according to recordings.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CHARLIE KIRK
Authorities said the killer arrived around 11:52 a.m. and climbed to a rooftop through a campus building’s stairwell. The 31-year-old Kirk’s event began at noon. After the shooting, the suspected assassin jumped down the other side of the building and fled into a neighborhood, where police were canvassing for video evidence.
Kirk, a father of two and the founder of Turning Point USA, died of his injuries.
Graphic video shows him struck and slumping over, before panic ripples through the large crowd in attendance, with people screaming and running for cover. Other videos appear to show someone moving on the rooftop of a building across from where Kirk was speaking in the center of a green space.
CHARLIE KIRK, TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER, DEAD AT 31 AFTER UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING
The school has more than 40,000 students. An event organizer told Fox News Digital that 1,400 people RSVP’d to the event. The organizer said that many people had come from out of state to see Kirk speak.
The Utah Department of Public Safety later said about 3,000 people attended the event.
“We had a speaker, Charlie Kirk, who was invited by a student group, Turning Point USA, who was speaking on campus today at noon,” Ellen Treanor, the associate vice president of strategic and communication management at Utah Valley University, said in a statement.
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“At about 12:20 shots were fired from a building about 200 yards from the speaker. To the best of our knowledge, the individual was hit and was taken away immediately by his security personnel.”
President Donald Trump was the first to officially announce Kirk’s death.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Former FBI profiler says Kirk’s assassin likely ‘leaked’ plans before deadly attack
The assassin behind Charlie Kirk‘s murder is still on the lam and is likely an individual who lacks social skills, isolates himself and has only a loose plan for next steps, retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and profiler James Clemente told Fox News Digital.
“In this case, it’s likely that there has been, for some time, a building frustration, and anger and rage and an inability to feel that is addressed. And so they wanted to make a big — a very big — public statement. [The suspect] probably has a very poor self-image and wanted to do something big to feel better about themselves.
“And they probably, again, don’t have the skills to address these issues in a calm, rational, interpersonal way. And that’s why they lashed out in this very violent and extreme manner,” Clemente, also the co-host and creator of the show “Real Crime Profile,” told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Thursday.
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Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot by an unidentified individual Wednesday afternoon while attending an event at Utah Valley University as part of his American Comeback Tour. Kirk was a massive voice for the conservative movement, championing faith, family and freedom-focused values for youths, most notably on college campuses through TPUSA.
The shocking assassination has not yet yielded a suspect, and the FBI and local law enforcement agencies are poring through evidence to identify and apprehend the individual.
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: DISPATCH AUDIO REVEALS SUSPECT IN BLACK TACTICAL GEAR, CARRYING LONG GUN
Clemente spoke to Fox Digital specifically about a shooter’s pre- and post-offense behavior, noting that the suspect likely dropped hints or divulged details of the planned assassination to friends or family or via social media posts ahead of the violence.
“This is not likely a repeat offense for this person. It’s probably the first time that they ever acted out in this way, and, therefore, they probably leaked out information beforehand,” he said, adding the suspect may have dropped information to others while at work to colleagues or while drinking at a bar.
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION SUSPECT EVADES MANHUNT AS INVESTIGATORS ANALYZE SECURITY FOOTAGE
High-profile shooters typically drop breadcrumbs of information on their planned attack “because they don’t know for certain that this is what they’re going to do, but they are building up this frustration and anger and rage, and they want to take it out.”
The retired FBI profiler added that the suspect is likely not a sophisticated killer and was only “developing” a murderous persona, which would make the individual more prone to speaking openly about the upcoming attack.
Police dispatch audio revealed police were on the hunt for a person wearing all black and carrying a long rifle near the university library, Fox News Digital previously reported. Investigators later said they recovered a “high-powered, bolt-action rifle” near the scene after tracing the assassin’s suspected escape route.
Police, citing images of a person of interest they obtained, reported the individual appeared to be college-age and “blended in well” with the crowd.
“Starting at 11:52 a.m. this subject arrived on campus, shortly away from campus,” Utah Department of Public Safety Director Beau Mason told reporters Thursday. “We have tracked his movements onto the campus through the stairwells, up to the roof across the roof to the shooting location. After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building and fled, off of the campus and into a neighborhood.”
VIDEO SHOWS MOMENTS BEFORE ASSASSINATION OF TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER CHARLIE KIRK
Clemente, in his breakdown of the suspect’s “post-offense behavior,” said the shooter likely did not map out a next step plan after carrying out the assassination, pointing to how police recovered the rifle tossed near the scene of the tragedy.
“He had no idea what was going to happen afterwards, what was going to happen during, whether he was going to get away with it or not. And, so, therefore, he didn’t plan out his after-game,” Clemente said.
The retired FBI supervisory special agent added that the suspect is likely showing a guilty hand with odd behaviors, such as making an excuse of facing some type of emergency and needing to abruptly leave his home, job or school.
CHARLIE KIRK DEAD AT 31: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT HIS LEGACY AT TURNING POINT USA
“Somebody knows this person. A number of people know this person. A number of people will have some kind of interaction with him, in which he will sort of try to avoid the spotlight until the heat is off of him. And so he may leave the area for kind of a last-minute emergency and then try to come back when everything’s calmed down,” Clemente said.
TRUMP RESPONDS TO CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING: ‘LOVED AND ADMIRED BY ALL’
The FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the suspect or suspects, and FBI Director Kash Patel is heading to Utah Thursday.
Clemente stressed to Fox News Digital that the FBI is investigating “everything.”
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“They’re using whatever technology is available. They’re definitely looking at all videos. There’s literally hundreds and hundreds of videos out there from the students and the attendees at this rally. There’s also cameras out in the real world that I’m certain that they followed this person’s egress and ingress and, that’s how they found the weapon, and it is also how he’s going to be identified,” he said.
Kirk, 31, leaves behind his wife Erika and their two children, ages 1 and 3. His casket will be transported to Arizona on Air Force Two, Fox News Digital reported on Thursday.
I’m a Democrat, and Charlie Kirk’s murder must unite all Americans against violence
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have rightly decried political violence, specifically the senseless murder of an exceptional young man: Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was one of the most prominent and forceful advocates of the Trump administration’s MAGA policies. He was also, in large part, a key contributor to President Donald Trump‘s election victory in 2024.
Violence – whether directed at Trump, Charlie Kirk, CEOs, Gov. Josh Shapiro, or state legislators in Minnesota – must stop.
It must stop now.
CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION LATEST CASE OF CONSERVATIVES BEING TARGETED FOR MURDER
As a country, we need to do more to end the rising tide of political violence gripping the nation.
Let me be very clear: I have argued for as long as I have been in political and public life that we need to lower our volume, lower our temperature and unite.
We must do more to achieve our common purpose as a nation.
Never is that truer than it is today.
To be sure, it is misguided to blame the opposite political party for violence when it occurs. Doing so is destructive, divisive and weakens our social fabric at home as well as our standing globally.
But it does more than that.
JB PRITZKER CONDEMNS POLITICAL VIOLENCE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH, SAYS TRUMP’S RHETORIC ‘OFTEN FOMENTS IT’
As a nation, we have always prided ourselves on our ability to cooperate – to disagree, yes, but to have a loyal opposition and free debate, not wholesale attacks that may or may not lead to violence.
Moreover, whether certain rhetoric translates into violence or not, it has inevitably contributed to a toxic and divisive political culture we can no longer accept.
Frankly, when I hear my party, the Democrats, say that they need to get more aggressive and more hostile against the Republicans, I take great issue with that – on both rhetorical and substantive grounds.
The last thing we need now is a government shutdown. Notwithstanding what some like Ezra Klein have said in The New York Times, we do not need to fight the Trump administration simply for the sake of fighting.
CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER THE LATEST IN INCREASING POLITICAL VIOLENCE NATIONWIDE, FROM PA GOVERNOR TO SCOTUS
We need to advocate constructively for protecting the social safety net – Medicare, Medicaid, food programs and other social welfare initiatives – and make every effort not to close the government but rather to keep it open.
Similarly, I would say to my Republican friends that it is wrong to demonize the left, even when rhetoric is inappropriate and extreme.
I decry it and hope that they will lower their voices, but I believe the country needs – particularly as I write this on 9/11 – a period of reconciliation.
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION ROCKS CAPITOL HILL, HEIGHTENS LAWMAKERS’ SECURITY FEARS
We need to avoid entering an era like the one we faced during Vietnam in the 1960s, when within a roughly two-month period two of our most important leaders, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, were gunned down senselessly and brutally.
Allow me to be very clear about what I’m not doing here. I’m not trying to blame the left, nor am I trying to blame the right.
While scant details have emerged, I do not know for certain the ideology of the shooter who killed Charlie Kirk. But to me, it is important to use this not as a vehicle for attack or revenge, but as a tool for political reconciliation.
Both Democrats and Republicans can cooperate on things like tighter borders, even if we disagree on overall immigration policy.
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We can agree that Ukraine needs support, even if we disagree on the precise nature and scope of it. We can agree that we must protect the social safety net, even if Republicans disagree on which programs should and should not be protected.
And above all, we can agree that while both sides may have different opinions on what is best for the United States of America, at our core, Democrats and Republicans all want the country to succeed and prosper.
But what we cannot disagree on is our essential purpose as a nation: a free-market, capitalist society that works to improve the greater good for all Americans in a constructive and safe environment.
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Hopefully, the legacy of Charlie Kirk – a proud American, a zealous advocate and a fighter for what he believed in – will lead to a period of greater cooperation and consensus, the kind President Trump spoke about so movingly during his speech at the Republican National Convention in 2024 after his own assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
I say this in the hope that people will take it not as a homily, but as a call to action. Our country has never required more unity, a centrality of purpose, and a greater willingness on both sides to cooperate and reconcile.
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‘The president said no’: European Parliament shuts down tribute for Charlie Kirk
Members of the European Parliament dramatically refused a request to honor Charlie Kirk with a a moment of silence in the chamber Thursday.
Kirk, 31, was killed Wednesday as he addressed students at Utah Valley University, sending shock waves across the nation.
Kirk was known for mobilizing young conservatives and was appearing on college campuses with Turning Point USA. President Donald Trump called him “the best of America.”
Over at the EU, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the attack on Kirk when he was shot dead as “a deep wound for democracy.”
SPORTS WORLD REACTS TO CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING DEATH: ‘PRAYERS FOR HIS FAMILY’
Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, asked colleagues Thursday to pause proceedings in the house and to “declare that our right to freedom of speech cannot be extinguished.”
Weimer’s wish was supported by members of Germany’s AfD and France’s Identity Liberties movement.
But European Parliament President Roberta Metsola denied the request and said procedural rules requiring tributes had to be formally submitted at the opening of a plenary session.
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Since that session had already taken place on Monday, Metsola noted a tribute could still be scheduled for October.
When Weimers went on to give up his remaining speaking time for a moment of silence, Vice President Katarina Barley cut him off, sparking desk-banging protests from right-wing lawmakers in the chamber.
“We have discussed this, and you know the president said no to a minute of silence,” Barley said as centrist and left-leaning members clapped.
Outside the chamber, Hungarian Fidesz MEP András László accused Parliament of hypocrisy, pointing out it had previously honored George Floyd but refused Kirk.
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Online, some lawmakers also posted, “I am Charlie” images, showing the slogan from the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack.
Metsola defended the decision as consistent with parliamentary procedure and offered condolences.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and young children — who were the bedrock of his life,” she said.
Foreign nationals who praise political killing face swift action from Trump admin
The State Department will be monitoring the words of foreign nationals who “glorify violence” after the Charlie Kirk shooting and take “appropriate action.”
“In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau wrote on X.
“I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action. Please feel free to bring such comments by foreigners to my attention so that the @StateDept can protect the American people.”
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Landau said in a subsequent post he would direct his consular officials to monitor replies to his X post calling out foreign nationals in the U.S. on visas who posted such rhetoric.
In June, the State Department said it would monitor the social media posts of visa applicants and would instruct applicants to set their social media to “public.”
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION WITNESSES DESCRIBE MINIMAL SECURITY, HORRIFYING SHOOTING
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: DISPATCH AUDIO REVEALS SUSPECT IN BLACK TACTICAL GEAR, CARRYING LONG GUN
The State Department has already revoked over 6,000 student visas, because recipients had either overstayed visas or broken the law. The “vast majority” of legal violations were assault, driving under the influence, burglary or “support for terrorism.”
On Wednesday, Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, father of two and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The event was part of his “American Comeback Tour,” which drew a crowd of about 3,000 attendees.
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Kirk was addressing a question from the audience about mass shootings involving transgender individuals when a single shot struck him in the neck. The weapon, later recovered, was a high-powered bolt-action rifle found in a nearby wooded area. Authorities believe the shot came from a rooftop roughly 200 yards away.
While the suspect remains at large, the FBI recently released imagery, imploring the public for help in identifying the shooter.
Yankees manager reveals ‘intimidating’ Trump clubhouse visit ahead of 9/11 game
NEW YORK – Thursday night in New York marked the first time since 2019 that a sitting president had attended a Major League Baseball game.
It is hardly the first sporting event President Donald Trump has been to since his second term began, but this one had a little extra juice to it.
Trump attended the New York Yankees’ 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers in the Bronx on the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
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Roughly a few miles from Ground Zero, Trump received a mostly positive ovation from the more than 40,000 people at Yankee Stadium. Yet the crowd was able to get over differences for multiple “USA” chants throughout the night.
“It was an awesome night. Meaningful,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters after the game. “Captain [Aaron Judge] just spoke about it, just having us out there kind of all lined up together, first for the moment of silence, then back out there for the anthem, and just that buzz that New York City can create, you definitely felt it tonight. Obviously, the president being here, just an added layer. September baseball against a really good club. A special night to be a part of, and hopefully none of us took it for granted.”
Trump met with the Yankees in the clubhouse and called Judge a “fantastic player.” The reigning AL MVP (and favorite to win again this year) responded by belting a home run in each of his first two at-bats and tying Joe DiMaggio for fourth place on the Yankees’ all-time home runs list.
AARON JUDGE HITS 2 HOME RUNS AFTER MEETING TRUMP, WHO CALLED HIM A ‘FANTASTIC PLAYER’
“It was meaningful to see your superstar go out there and do that. And I know what it meant to Aaron. You guys know how impactful and how important that ‘NY’ is that he wears in the pinstripes. What it is to represent this city now as one of the faces of the city as a sports figure now, it means a lot to him, and it’s not lost on him. So for him to go out and have that game on a night like tonight is a little extra special,” Boone said.
The clock almost struck midnight on Trump’s visit to the Yankees — he entered the clubhouse at around 6:40 p.m. ET, and according to Boone, he was supposed to arrive at 5:45 p.m. ET.
But the skipper sounded like the wait was worth it.
“It was great. I was there with Carlos [Rodon] and Gerrit [Cole] when he walked into the doors of our clubhouse. It’s a little intimidating, you’re a little nervous, but he was great,” Boone said. “He’s great in that setting, real personable, took some pictures, shook hands. And then we walked him into the main area where the players were, and they got to greet him.
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“It was a really, really cool interaction, I think, for a lot of people. Glad he was able to be here, and I think it meant a lot to a lot of people. So definitely a cool experience.”
Joe Rogan visibly shocked by Charlie Kirk’s death, warns of ideologues ‘celebrating this’
Podcast host Joe Rogan praised slain TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk, arguing he deserves credit for trying to protect Americans’ ability to have an open debate.
“There’s going to be a lot of people celebrating this,” Rogan told guest Charlie Sheen. “It’s so scary. It’s so dangerous too, to celebrate or to in any way encourage this kind of behavior from human beings. … He’s not a violent guy. He was talking to people on college campuses.”
He added that Kirk “wasn’t even particularly rude. He tried to be pretty reasonable with people.”
“Everything I saw seemed reasonable,” Sheen replied.
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FOX NEWS PERSONALITIES OFFER EMOTIONAL TRIBUTES TO CHARLIE KIRK: ‘HE LOVED AMERICA SO MUCH’
Kirk, the founder of one of the most influential political organizations in the country, was shot while holding an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He later died, leaving the country reeling from another act of horrific political violence.
The suspect remains at large. Authorities said they recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle and obtained clear video of the shooter, who reportedly jumped from a building and ran off campus into a nearby neighborhood.
Rogan, who still touts himself as a liberal at heart, was aghast at Kirk’s death. He suggested Kirk was “murdered for having a different opinion from somebody else, different ideology from somebody else.”
CHARLIE KIRK PAINTED AS ‘CONTROVERSIAL,’ ‘PROVOCATIVE’ IN MEDIA’S ASSASSINATION COVERAGE
“He was a very intelligent guy,” Rogan said. “Whether you agree with him or don’t, and there’s a lot of stuff that I didn’t agree with him on. That’s fine. You’re allowed to disagree with people without celebrating the fact they got shot.”
Rogan offered his vision of how political opponents should actually interact in American life.
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“Well, what you’re supposed to do with a guy like that, if you’re opposing him is debate him, right?” Rogan said. “Have a conversation where your argument is more compelling than his. That’s what people should be celebrating — discourse. You know, we used to do that.”
Fiery sideline moment erupts as Packers player makes mistake to slow drive
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleuer ripped into defensive lineman Kingsley Enagbare in the first quarter of the team’s game against the Washington Commanders on Thursday.
Amazon Prime Video host Kirk Herbstreit explained that Enagbare believed the Packers were going out onto the field to kick a field goal from the Commanders’ 33-yard line. Instead, Green Bay decided to go for it. The confusion caused the official to stand over the ball, slowing the Packers’ offense down.
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The broadcast showed LaFleur yelling at Enagbare on the sidelines. The Packers turned the ball over on downs to start the game.
Enagbare, a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina, is in his fourth season with Green Bay. He had three tackles in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions.
Green Bay entered the locker room with a 14-3 lead over the Commanders.
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The Packers got the scoring started with a touchdown pass from Jordan Love to wide receiver Romeo Doubs to start the scoring. It capped a seven-play, 96-yard drive in the first quarter.
Packers running back Josh Jacobs ended a 10-play, 92-yard drive with a touchdown from two yards out. It put the Packers up 14-0 in the second quarter.
Washington got on the board with a 51-yard field goal from Matt Gay. But it was clear the Commanders were struggling on offense.
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Green Bay had 13 first downs going into the half. Washington only recorded four. The Packers were 3-for-6 on third-down plays while the Commanders were only 2-of-7.